Monthly Archives: September 2017

ORIGINS

Humans have always known there was a force greater than them in the universe since the beginning of time. We respond to this knowledge by worship, attempts to gain understanding, or the realization that we cannot in fact truly understand. Dreams have always brought us closer to our beliefs and inspire us to ask some of the oldest questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Every culture has a different answer. There are other unanswerable questions as well. Humans have always seen the power of the ocean or a storm or the birth of a human and wondered “if something was powerful enough to create all of this, is there some way for me to also control this much power?” The idea of a higher being has also been used to enforce laws and ways of living together in harmony since the very beginning of civilization. Punishment or rewards after death for living a certain lifestyle are a powerful motivator in all cultures to obey the rules and stay in line. Evidence shows that even people as ancient as the Neanderthals may have placed special items in the graves of their loved ones to accompany them to the afterlife. While there will never be a way to prove or disprove the existence of any God(s) there is no denying that ancient civilizations have depended on their beliefs to grow and prosper, and without the confidence that there is someone higher up than us, we would not be where we are in the world today.

GODS IN THE PHYSICAL WORLD

“How Much Policing Do We Really Need?”

Why have confrontations between the police and the common citizen become so lethal? Racism, poor training, or availability of firearms to civilians? Well it’s really none of these in the long run. Without profit and loss in the policing industry, the police cannot know if they are using their resources effectively. Since the people are not there to tell police what problems they need to be dealt with the most, bureaucrats and politicians step in and tell the police “what the people want or need.”

Economist Bruce Benson (Florida) found that when police focus on enforcing the abolition of drugs, they turn their attention away from defending the people and their property, and crime in those areas shoots up.

Turning again to the economic side of the equation, we can see that because the police are not using the free market system to get paid, they simply can’t tell which is greater; the value of their services, or the resources used up to

What about police immunity in court? Some people argue in favor that when cops are not held to the same laws as the rest of us, they will not hesitate to use the force they need to in order to properly perform their jobs. I think that this simply encourages police to use excessive force instead, making the problem even worse.

Since police do not use the free market system and therefore have no obligation to satisfy the consumer, we should not be surprised when they act in their or the state’s best interests instead of the people’s interests who it is their job to protect and serve. Continue reading →

After the Boston Tea Party, parliament decided to adopt a suit of acts called the Coercive Acts in 1774. One of the Coercive Acts stated that the upper house would now be selected by a king-appointed governor instead of the people as had been done previously. Another of the acts closed port of Boston. Yet another act allowed soldiers to freely grab private residences to live in. The ultimate conflict resulted from american resistance to these acts.

April 19, 1775, a party of British solders went up to Concord to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock but Paul Revere had already warned people. Stuff happened. After the conflict where several Americans were killed, the British were forced to retreat to Boston.

About a month later, the second Continental Congress was called where alliances were formed, George Washington was named commander and chief of a force of common citizens, and a point decimal system was established for money to replace the confusing and complicated British system. 8 grains of sliver totaled a dollar which explains why a quarter is sometimes called a 2 bit piece.

August 1775, King George issued a royal proclamation that said something along the lines of, “anyone who resists parliamentary policy in North America was in rebellion and must be brought to justice.” The Colonials hoped in vain that their parliamentary allies may win the argument in favor of fairness for the colonies. Finally on July 4 1776 the colonies abandoned that sinking ship and declared independence. By 1783 the fighting had completely ceased.

We can clearly see that the South had a very different culture from the North in Colonial times. The Cavalier, Celtic, and South African cultures dominated in the South while the Puritans and Quakers resided primarily in the North. Today, we’re gonna talk a bit about Cavalier culture. Land and status were everything in cavalier society. Their ultimate goal in North America was to re-create the aristocratic style that they had in England. The famous southern accent was actually the people hanging onto the old English language. In fact, Shakespeare probably would’ve had a southern accent, NOT the Elizabethan accent we all imagine him having. Marriage between the Cavaliers was strictly orthodox christian. The standard age for marriage was anywhere from 18-20 for girls and 25-30 for boys. There was a heavy emphasis on keeping wealth and land in the family, which resulted in a lot of intermarriage. Cavalier society was extremely male dominated. Girls weren’t allowed to do much but also were not expected to do much. Guys on the other hand had to really step their game up, learn how to effectively run a household, do their part in society, be skilled in all things manly, and yet still be a gentleman at the same time with refined dancing skills and manners. In Southern society, you went to church because you were absolutely devoted to it. Mass consisted of a few very short lectures and an after service feast. Speaking of feasting, the Cavilers had great food; fresh veggies and fruits and lots of beef. Everything was fried and flavored subtly but with lots of spices.

“Is Forced Military Service Good for the Economy?”

Hell no.

Military conscription is generally pushed as “honorable, patriotic,” and even occasionally “good for the economy.” Elizabeth Braw of the Atlantic Council claims in the Financial Times that the state has every right to force the young men and women of the country into the military because it “helps their careers” and “develops general skills useful “in any sector, such as adaptation, managing and social skills.”

In 1973 Murray Rothbard wrote about how conscription is slavery because it forces total compliance in the way you move, act, and even think. Not to mention the distinct possibility of death or maiming while serving their sentence, or the guarantee of severe punishment if you attempt to dodge this form of slavery.

Braw centered her argument on the misconception that the government is the best entity to decide how young men should spend their early lives. What if these young people wish to become doctors, or scientists, or plumbers? Braw basically says that they will be useless to the world as whatever they wish to become and would much better benefit the economy in the military. However, simple logic shows that if they were to earn a living through one of these careers then people do need them and are willing to pay for their services and are grateful for the many years of their life they took to learn the skills necessary to perform their job. The skills they will emerge with from the military with do effectively nothing as a doctor, or a scientist, or a plumber as long as the individual lacks training in their chosen field of work.

Through simple reasoning, we can clearly see that Elizabeth Braw’s claim that military conscription benefits the economy is bogus and we can confidently say, “Forced Military Service is NOT Good for the Economy.” Continue reading →

Write a 250 word essay on the business opportunity which most intrigued you.

In his latest lecture, Mr. Emmons gave several possible business opportunities; Website Development, Copywriting, Graphic Design, Videographer, App Design, and Selling Products Online. Since I had previously decided to create a business around art, the graphic design opportunity intrigued me the most.

The interwebs define graphic design as, “the art or skill of combining text and pictures in advertisements, magazines, or books.” While graphic design itself is not particularly appealing to me, I have found a few ideas similar to graphic design that have allowed several artists to make a middle class income within only a few years. One of these ideas is selling commissions. Basically someone gives you a photo or a character or an idea and you get to draw them for money! Super simple concept and very similar to graphic design. It’s great. Unfortunately if you are not a super-popular artist, you may not be able to sell anything in the beginning. Many of the more well-known artists that I follow have their shops set up as such: a gallery of paintings that anyone can buy, open commissions for people to buy specifically crafted paintings, a shop such as Patreon where they effectively sell tutorials and special peeks into their sketchbooks, and something like a redbubble shop where they sell specialized art products like shirts, pins, and stickers. Many artists also do product reviews and can even be sent new art supplies to try out and review for companies. A key part in these artists success is their interaction with their followers over social media. Taking requests, answering questions, and doing fan-art are all part of their popularity and key in spreading news of their amazing art.

Clearly before beginning any sort of art-career, you must have people who are interested in your art and willing to pay for your designs, but once you do have that, art is not a terrible middle-class income career to pursue.

The Head Owl

**CHANGE IN BLOG CONTENT** I don’t really want this blog with my full name and everything to be linked to the art business I’m going to set up, so most of my future artwork will be here: (mads-83’s Tumblr Blog) or here (Mads83’s Deviantart Gallery). Hope ya’ll check up on it occasionally. <3